Glue Story

Creative Kids class yesterday was a satisfying challenge for me. I usually teach adults, so ten children between the ages of six and twelve was a different experience. And doing collage with a new group in a limited time frame was always going to be interesting. Of course I over-prepared . . .

The grevillea and gum flowers I had picked for inspiration were of more interest as craft materials than as something to look at, and most of the books stayed on the table. But the fabric and wool scraps were very exciting to use--so much so that the pile of magazines was pretty much untouched. With all those fascinating possibilities for 3-D creations the glue got a very good work out. I'm glad I'd thought to bring supplies of extra-tacky glue. It was in huge demand. The pegs for holding things down while waiting for the glue to dry were also handy, though some of them tried to become part of the art work!  By the end of the session each child had made something beautiful to take home. And I'd gained a heap more insight into the way different personalities tackle a creative challenge. To add to the fun and satisfaction, several children had made themselves necklaces or other ornaments out of wool, ribbon and buttons; or asked to take home an extra bit of something coloured and fluffy for later use.

To learn more about Creative Kids, please head over to Amanda's blog. She is their regular teacher and developer of this whole program.

Craft Fair Reprise

Remember last Saturday and my plans to go to the Quilt Show without emtying my wallet? Well, I didn't do too badly. All I bought was this:

Bright boldly coloured felt balls! I'm planning to use them in some of my freeform jewellry. They're quite light for their size--that's a challenge with big bright beads normally, so felt is a great solution. Unfortunately there's no information on the packaging about who makes them. And from the price I can be sure that they're not made locally.

Shiny Things

I picked up this bracelet for a couple of dollars at an Opp Shop a few weeks ago.

I don't usually wear bracelets. I don't like the feeling of something around my wrist. Maybe that's because I use my hands so much with various crafts. And this bracelet is heavy. Those are big cut glass beads and semi-precious stones. Well, maybe semi-precious is a bit of an overstatement, but anyway, they are heavy. So why did I bother buying this, even for just a couple of dollars? I'm hoping to make it into a necklace. I'm thinking of something a bit freeform incorporating different twisted cords and fibres. Hopefully on the weekend I'll have a go at it. Meanwhile I've promised to help with the Newsletter at the Neighbourhood House today. The volunteer who normally does it is out of action and it needs to be out this week.

Collage

I'm still thinking about Saturday's Creative Kids class. One of the exciting things about taking a new group is that it shakes up my thinking and makes me look at things differently. I love doing research, so yesterday afternoon I took myself off to the local library to look for resources. I came home with several lovely garden books and this:

It's not about flowers, but it's full of lovely collage. Collage is an art form in itself, so I want to show the Creative Kids some lovely examples in a real published book to inspire them. I've got a collection of coloured magazines for them to use too, so they can make something like this if they choose to.

Wandering

I went to my first class at the Incinerator Arts Complex yesterday evening. It's an introduction to drawing and painting. I enrolled as a way of making up to myself for not doing the Textile Art course at Box Hill this semester. I'm hoping to be able to develop some skills in a more relaxed environment. So far I'm happy. Here is an exercise I did last night. The good news is "if it doesn't look like a page full of spaghetti, you're not doing the exercise right"

























The process involves looking intently at an object and not looking at the page. We were told to carefully follow our eyes with our hand marking on the page. Our eyes were supposed to wander slowly over the object. That's about it really--or as much as I could understand on a first try--I'm sure there's a lot more to the process. What amazed me was how differently I saw my object during the exercise. Previously I've been told that drawing is about "looking". This exercise somehow reset my looking process, so that I actually saw details and subtleties that I was previously unaware of. And thankfully the drawing wasn't supposed to look like anything at all, so no worries about showing it here. By the way, if you're wanting to learn more about this exercise, I think it's called "contour drawing".




Flower Fantasies

I've been invited to fill in for a class with the Creative Kids group at Sussex Neighbourhood House. It's a creative art group for children of primary school age. Amanda started the group and I've been following with interest as the concept develops. She's tied up with other teaching this week, so I get to participate. I'm following along the theme of the flowers that have been intriguing me lately, but now thinking about it in a child-centred way. All of a sudden bits and pieces around the house take on a new significance . . .

No, this is not an egg carton. It's a dozen flower bases and a planter box! I'll get to raid my fabric and wool stash and see what these creative kids get up to. Look out for some photos on the weekend.

edited to add

Change of plan--one of the children has an egg allergy--we'll use something else!

Thank You Project

Sussex Neighbourhood House celebrates a big birthday next week. It's been 20 years of community building--that's worth making a fuss about. I was approached to help with a project to celebrate some of the people who have built the community over the years.




















Initially we hoped to do some new portrait photos and gather stories, but the realities of available time and people-power made that impossible. Instead we've been working with the photos we already have. During the week of the birthday we'll be asking participants to add to the photos we have. There will be craft supplies available for people to make Thank You cards, write notes and share their stories. I'm hoping it will be an encouraging time for all those involved.